Suzi ... and Other Four Letter Words, released in 1979, is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter, bass guitar player, and actress Suzi Quatro. By August 2012[update] this was still Quatro's highest-charting album in Norway (at number 4) and her second-highest-charting album in the United States (at number 117). [1]: 1–3 [2]
| Suzi...and Other Four Letter Words | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Studio | MCA/Whitney Studios, Glendale, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 31:29 | |||
| Label | Rak | |||
| Producer | Mike Chapman | |||
| Suzi Quatro chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Suzi ... and Other Four Letter Words | ||||
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The album contains three singles, all of which charted. "She's in Love with You", a number 1 hit in South Africa (where it topped the chart for 7 weeks), a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland, a top 40 hit in Australia and also a minor chart hit in New Zealand and the United States. "Mama's Boy" made chart appearances in both the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands and "I've Never Been in Love" charted in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.
Background
editThis, Quatro's sixth studio LP, was released after she moved from the United States to Britain. It is her last studio album before she decided not to renew her contract with record producer Mickie Most's RAK Records label. (Instead she signed a contract with Dreamland Records, which had been set up by songwriters/producers Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn).[3]: 4
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| Smash Hits | 7½10[5] |
Writing for Smash Hits in 1979, Red Starr described the album as "ten immediately accessible chunks of bouncy, straightforward pop-rock".[5] In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Donald A. Guarisco sees Quatro as making "a strong return to her hard-rocking roots" with the album. Example "bracing rocker" tracks are "I've Never Been in Love" and "She's in Love with You". These are "judiciously balanced with a string of tuneful, keyboard-based mid-tempo tunes" such as "Hollywood" and the "pop-inflected reggae groove" of "Four Letter Words". Guarisco feels that the downside of the album is that "many of the songs recycle the same double-time backbeat" and singles out "You Are My Lover" whose melody "is minimalist to the point of being repetitive". He concludes that:
"Despite these minor problems, Suzi...and Other Four Letter Words remains a solid slab of rock that is guaranteed to please the Suzi Quatro fanbase."[4]
Commercial performance
editBy August 2012[update] Suzi...and Other Four Letter Words (1979) was still Quatro's highest-charting album in Norway, beating both Quatro (1974), which reached number 5, and Suzi Quatro (1973), which reached number 6.[6] It was also her second-highest-charting album in the United States, behind If You Knew Suzi... (1978), which reached number 37 in The Billboard 200.[7]
Track listing
edit- "I've Never Been in Love" (Melissa A. Connell) – 3:02
- "Mind Demons" (Suzi Quatro, Len Tuckey) – 2:25
- "She's in Love with You" (Mike Chapman, Nicky Chinn) – 3:32
- "Hollywood" (Quatro, Tuckey) – 2:57
- "Four Letter Words" (Chapman, Chinn) – 3:27
- "Mama's Boy" (Quatro, Tuckey) – 3:35
- "Starlight Lady" (Quatro, Tuckey) – 3:36
- "You Are My Lover" (Jack Lee) – 3:12
- "Space Cadets" (Quatro, Tuckey) – 4:18
- "Love Hurts" (Quatro, Tuckey) – 2:45
Personnel
edit- Suzi Quatro – lead vocals, bass guitar, writer
- Len Tuckey – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, writer
- Jamie Crompton – guitar, backing vocals
- Bill Hurd – keyboard, backing vocals
- Dave Neal – drums
Technical
- Dave Tickle – engineer
- Peter Coleman – engineer
- Glenn Ross – art direction
- Norman Seeff – photography
- Steve Hall – mastering
- Nicky Chinn – writer
- Mike Chapman – producer, writer
Charts
editAlbum
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] | 47 |
| Norway | 4[6] |
| Sweden | 36[6] |
| United States, The Billboard 200 | 117[9] |
Singles
edit"She's in Love with You" / "Space Cadets" (or "Starlight Lady" in the US)
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 11[10] |
| Austria | 4[11] |
| Netherlands | 6[11] |
| New Zealand | 24[11] |
| Norway | 10[11] |
| Switzerland | 6[11] |
| United States, The Billboard Hot 100 | 41[7] |
"Mama's Boy" / "Mind Demons" (1980 single)
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 34[10] |
| Netherlands | 43[12] |
"I've Never Been in Love" / "Starlight Lady" (or "Space Cadets" in the US) (1980 single)
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 56[10] |
| United States, The Billboard Hot 100 | 44[7] |
References
edit- ^ Auslander, Philip (28 January 2004). "I Wanna Be Your Man: Suzi Quatro's musical androgyny". Popular Music. 23 (1). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press: 1–16. doi:10.1017/S0261143004000030. S2CID 191508078. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "BBC Queens of British Pop, Suzi Quatro – David Jensen film clip 2009". www.bbc.co.uk. London, UK: BBC. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Hendriks, Phil; Tim Smith (February 2011). Rock Hard (CD booklet). Suzi Quatro. London, United Kingdom: 7T's Records. GLAM CD 126.
- ^ a b Guarisco, Donald A. "Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words – Suzi Quatro : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Ann Arbor, US. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ a b Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (29 November – 12 December 1979): 31.
- ^ a b c "norwegiancharts.com – Suzi Quatro – Suzi ... and Other Four Letter Words". norwegiancharts.com. Dietikon, Switzerland: Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Suzi Quatro – Awards". AllMusic. Ann Arbor, US. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 243. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Suzi...And Other Four Letter Words – Suzi Quatro: Awards: AllMusic". www.allmusic.com. Ann Arbor, USA: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ a b c "SUZI QUATRO / Artist / Official Charts". officialcharts.com. London, United Kingdom: The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "norwegiancharts.com – Suzi Quatro – She's In Love With You". norwegiancharts.com. Dietikon, Switzerland: Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com – Suzi Quatro – Mama's Boy". norwegiancharts.com. Dietikon, Switzerland: Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 September 2012.